a different kind of love
by Caliey127
Summary: disregards the seventh book. Hermione has some changes in her looks, attitude and power. and someone expectantly unexpected comes back to Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

I own none of the characters, only the plot is mine, the rest belongs to the fabulous J.K. Rowling...enjoy :)

A dark girl stepped onto Platform 9 ¾ so quietly it was a while 'til people noticed her. When they did, whispers began and followed her onto the train. She ignored them and found an empty compartment, then heaved her trunk onto the rack above her seat. She didn't even bother to try and find Harry and Ron. She knew they would be the first ones to ask (if they even recognized her now) and she didn't feel like answering questions right then.

Hermione Granger really was hardly recognizable now. She had taken to straightening her hair more often, and she wore dark clothes. She didn't even need to put eyeliner on; her eyes had dark circles under them from serious lack of sleep. She now painted her nails black and she wore trousers that were ripped at the knees and shredded where they dragged on the ground. Her shirts were all black, purple, green, and any other dark colour she could find. She had cropped some of her hair to shoulder length so it would be easier to handle, and had chopped off random locks here and there. She had dyed the ends a mix of green, black, and purple. It clashed with the original brown colour and she liked it. She let it hang in her face most of the time, but occasionally, she pulled it up in spikes.

She had grown, it was true, both in height and form, and before the accident, she had enjoyed the attention she got from the boys. Now she despised it. Any attention, from anyone, she cast away and usually had nothing more to do with them. She had put aside her Muggle friends and buried herself in her spell books. Her parents were affronted. After they got out from the hospital, they tried talking to her to but it was in vain. They had gone as far as sending her to all sorts of different councillors but had stopped after the third one because she kept turning them into chickens. Not realising that her parents were actually trying to help, Hermione had drawn even more into herself, talking only when she had to, and delving more and more into magic and her terrifying new powers. So when the time to go back to Hogwarts came again, Mr. and Mrs. Granger were almost glad to see her gone, sending her off with sweet kisses and hugs, but all the same it was a taxi they sent her off in. They normally took her themselves.

Now she took out her wand and straightened her hair. She used the spell so often, she didn't even need to see how it looked. She got a book from her trunk and started reading just as the train started moving. Curling her feet up on the seat, she leaned against the window and read a few pages. After the fourth page, her head started to nod onto her chest and her eyes started to close, but she continued to read. Two pages later, the book fell from her hand with a thunk and her eyes closed completely. She lay there, shivering slightly for a while when the compartment door opened and closed but she was in too deep a sleep to be bothered. The fallen book was picked up and placed on her trunk. Then a cloak, still warm from use, was tossed over her and the shivering ceased.

He had been wandering through the train in search for a compartment, but they were all filled and none, not even those from his own house would allow him to sit there. So when he found a dark compartment, he had thought it to be empty for lack of movement, but when he opened the door, he noticed the figure leaning against the window. She was shivering slightly but she was asleep, so he shoved his trunk in and sat down, thinking that this was probably the only compartment he was going to get.

He looked over at the girl again. She had short, straight hair and a rather dark face. She was also quite pretty. The way she looked on the outside reflected the way he felt inside. He looked down and noticed the book on the floor and thought, maybe I can do something right for once. He picked up the book and took off his cloak to cover her. She stopped shivering and he allowed himself a slight smile. He just hoped she'd stay asleep 'til the train stopped.

When the train finally did stop, Hermione was still asleep and was only awoken when the train's breaks squealed. She opened her eyes and sat up. Understanding that the journey was over, she pushed away any other thoughts of sleep and gathered her things. She halted as her hand touched the book on top of her trunk. She hadn't put it there, so that meant that someone else had been in here. She cast a sensory spell and saw that neither Harry, Ron, nor any other person she knew well had been in here. She tensed and sent a different kind of sensory spell around the compartment. She relaxed then; the person had meant her no harm at that moment and that was all that concerned her.

Hermione waited 'til the sound of footsteps and voices ceased before dragging her trunk out into the hallway and making her way off the train. She saw Hagrid waving to the first years and calling out to them, and continued on her way. She got in one of the carriages and looked out the window. She sighed and lowered her eyes. She could see the Thestrals.

A few minutes passed and a laughing couple opened the door but when they saw her, they shut the door and ran off to find another carriage. Hermione went back to looking out the window.

She had planned to skip the feast, and she was heading to the Gryffindor tower, when she noticed someone heading right for her. She stumbled, turned heel, and started walking quickly back, cursing herself for not doing the smart thing and hiding. His head was down and he really wasn't paying attention to where he was going but he looked up when he heard her stumble.

He looked up. A girl was walking quickly away and turned a corner soon after he noticed her, but he took one look at her dyed, short hair, and knew it was the girl he had sat with on the train. But why was she running away? He felt sure she hadn't seen his face, so she couldn't have recognized him. He picked up his pace, and turned the corner. The hall went on for a while but there was nobody there. He spied a statue of a goblin and walked a little closer to it.

She could sense him getting closer, and weighed her options. She could either A: make a run for it, or B: wait and hope he wouldn't find her. She chose A. Taking a deep breath, Hermione rushed around the statue and made a dash for the double doors leading to the Great Hall. She could hear him running after her, and he was catching up. She would be seen by everyone if she went through the doors, but it was a risk she was willing to take. She was weary of this boy; he had danger written all over him. She was almost there, a few more steps … but she was too slow. Hermione felt a cold hand as someone grasped her wrist and whipped her around to face him. Her hair fell into her face as she tried prying his hand off but he had too strong a grip and she could already feel his other hand on her shoulder. So she did the only thing that came to mind; she broke his nose.

Hermione thrust her palm up and heard a satisfying crack as her hand connected with his nose. He put his hands up to try and stop the flow of blood, letting go of her in the process and giving her the time she needed to get away. He made another wild grasp for her but met nothing but air. He cried out a muffled "Wait!" but she ignored him. Pushing the Great Hall doors aside, she walked in to a multitude of noise. The Sorting was already done and everyone was chatting happily with their friends about their summers and other such things. All of this talk was quickly subdued as Hermione stumbled in. All eyes were on her; her torn trousers, dyed hair, and bloody hand. From the far side of the Hall, two boys got up and rushed over to her and a lone figure glided down from the staff table. The boys slowed to a walk as they were about to reach her, and the one with raven hair and round glasses asked in a tentative voice, "Hermione?" So she was recognizable. She nodded slowly and he blinked several times. Then he grabbed her arm, turned her around, and rushed her out of the Great Hall. The boy with fiery red hair followed and the teacher from the staff table was not far behind.

Once they were out of the hall, Harry gave her a huge hug, nearly burying her as his long black hair cascaded with hers. Hermione hesitantly returned the hug. Ron hung behind looking scared. McGonagall closed the doors to the Hall, said, "Up," and walked briskly away. The three followed her silently.

As they neared, McGonagall said," Lemon Sherbet" and the gargoyles allowed them to pass. Hermione noticed McGonagall choke half way through the word, remembering the previous Headmaster. They stepped onto the staircase and it began to spiral upward. When they walked into the office, Hermione's eyes went straight to the painting of Dumbledore and although her eyes did not water, she felt her heart turn cold.

The head mistress turned around and faced the three seventh years.

"What is the meaning of this? Barging into the Great Hall, covered in blood. And while we're on that subject, why are you covered in blood in the first place? And on the first day of the year, too!" she exploded. Hermione did not answer but kept her eyes down. McGonagall asked, "What is your name girl?"

Hermione looked up and McGonagall gasped. "Ms. Granger?" Hermione nodded.

"Merlin child what happened to you?" whispered Professor McGonagall. Hermione shrugged. Professor McGonagall waved her wand and a chair appeared. She made Hermione sit in it. Then she said to Harry and Ron, "You boys go back to the feast and answer no questions. Ms. Granger and I have things to talk about." They started to protest but the head mistress silenced them with a cold look. Harry looked at Hermione and said, "We'll see you in the morning Hermione." Hermione didn't say anything and Harry left. Ron went after him with a sad look on his face.

McGonagall went around the desk and sat down. She looked at Hermione intently for a long time. Finally, she said, "Ms. Granger, I'll ask you once again; what happened?  
Hermione looked up and told her story with dry eyes and a steady voice though her insides were burning.

~*~  
Draco Malfoy went to the Slytherin common room and choked out the password he had heard from a passing first year. He pulled out his wand from his trunk and fixed his nose, then went to wash his face. He came back thinking about the girl. Who was she? And why did he have such a strong feeling to try and find that out? These were the two main questions he had. He remembered how she had broken his nose without any sympathy nor hesitation and his fascination of her grew.

He fell on his bed, not bothering to change and shut the curtains around him. He fell asleep with his wand under his pillow and the girl in his thoughts.

Thirty-four minutes after walking into the head mistress's office, Hermione walked out of it, tired, hungry and sad. She walked back to the Gryffindor common room alone. Dozens of spells flitted around in her head, most of them defence spells, in case anyone else tried anything. She took several short cuts and was back in front of the Fat Lady in no time. She realized she didn't know the password, but that didn't worry her.

Hermione tensed up then relaxed all at once, and her body disintegrated into thousands of tiny DNA strands, but she still retained a human like form. This was what she called dematerializing, and she had discovered it three days after the accident, along with a few other things. To someone standing close to her, she looked like a sand cloud but to someone standing farther away, she was invisible. Letting herself free, she became a cloud of dust and floated around the Fat Lady's portrait until she found a hole the size of a pinhead. She floated effortlessly through it and into the Gryffindor common room.

People had already started coming back from the feast and there were at least twenty people crowding around the fire. Drifting over their heads, Hermione made her way up to the girls' dormitories and found her bed. She drifted in through the curtains and formed her DNA into a human shape again. This time, she relaxed first, then tensed up and the dust cloud condensed giving Hermione back her colour and form. She changed, and went to bed, moonlight falling in through the window and covering her in a warm milky light

hey guys :) so this is my first chapter of my first story here on this site, hope you guys like it, specially all thost harry potter fans out there, even though its a bit different than most hp fanfics :) please please please review, im open to any suggestions, critisism and comments, let me know what you think :)

~Seph


	2. Chapter 2

*"Hermione! Hurry up, we're going to be late!" called Mrs. Granger from below.

"Coming!" She finished buckling her silver sandal and stood up in front of her mirror. She looked beautiful. She had straightened her hair, put a light amount of makeup on, and adorned her royal blue dress she had been saving for this night. As a final touch, she clasped a silver chain with a sapphire stone in the center around her neck and a pair of sapphire earring studs on her ears. She smiled at her reflection, then snatched up her wand and purse and rushed downstairs.

Mr. and Mrs. Granger were already in the car so she got her key and locked the house when she went out. She hopped into the back and Mr. Granger took off.

"So are you excited honey?" Mrs. Granger asked, twisting around in her seat to look at her daughters glowing face.

"Of course!" How could she not be? She had gone to a science convention on Christmas break and, thanks to all her progress in Potions, she had been able to find a combination of chemicals that would turn solid silver into liquid silver. Of course this had been done before and had been called quick silver, but quick silver burns when touched and the substance Hermione had created was cold. She had called her creation predictably, Cold Silver. The people running the convention had been so impressed they had recommended her to receive the National Youth Science Discovery Award and a couple months later, she had gotten a letter in the mail saying that she had won the award. Now, she was on her way to receive the award on national television.

Her mother turned back around and her father put ball room music on. A few minutes later though, her mom turned it off and turned around again. "Honey, I think I should warn you, Terrance is going to be there."

"What?" exclaimed Hermione, sitting up and frowning, "Who invited him?"

"Well, your father invited his cousins and his cousins told Terrance's family and they kind of invited themselves. And besides, it would be rude to tell them not to go. Maybe they just want to congratulate you as well."

"Yeah right, and I'm going to become the next Minister of Magic."

"Honey, just try to make the best of it and have a good time."

"We'll see," said Hermione, and left it at that. The truth was, now that she knew Terrance was coming, she really wasn't looking all that forward to it. Terrance was a boy three years older than her and he was always trying to get her to go out with him. Every time they saw each other, he would never fail to make a move on her. She was seriously tempted to turn him into a duck, but her parents wouldn't hear of it. Of course, he and his family knew nothing of Hogwarts and magic, but she'd be willing to deal with the Ministry of Magic if it meant she could put an end to all his advances. She decided to put the matter aside and forget about him for the night. After all, this was her night, and absolutely nothing could or would go wrong.

"Now," the announcer was saying, "this award is only given to youths who have made great discoveries in science. It had not been given out in six years. But now it will be. The NYS Award will be given out to a very talented girl who had the idea to combine silver with certain other chemicals and by doing so, has created liquid silver that dose not burn, but will harden when poured over an object and left to harden." The audience gave the appropriate "ooh" and slight applause.

A woman came out with a black plaque with silver lettering, a piece of paper, and a silver chain with a small, clear vile as a charm.

"The award has changed as the winners change," the announcer went on, "This time, we have the traditional plaque honouring the youth; a similar one has been placed up on our wall of fame and you can see it on your way out. We also have a necklace. It is a silver chain with a vile filled with, what else, some of the first batch of liquid silver. And now, it is my great pleasure to announce the winner of the National Youth Science Award, Ms. Hermione Granger!"

Hermione gathered her dress and walked proudly up to the stage. She stood beside the announcer while the audience quieted down. He then said, "Ms. Granger, what inspired you to create such a substance as Cold Silver?"

"Well, I saw a special on the discovery channel about alchemy, the study of gold. I heard that you had to create liquid gold before you created solid gold." This was of course a lie, but she had to have some kind of story. She went on, "I've just always liked silver, so I thought I'd try to liquefy it. To my amazement, I succeeded."

The audience clapped again and the announcer said, "Well, a stroke of genius I say." Then he reached for the plaque and handed it to her.

"And as you've so obviously earned, here is your award; a sample of Cold Silver." There was an applause as the announcer placed the chain over her head and reached for the piece of paper, "Now, in addition to the other items of recognition, I present to you, Ms. Granger, a check for £5,000. You truly are a brilliant young girl and hopefully, in your later career, you'll make more scientific discoveries." The audience clapped one last time as Hermione descended and took her seat again.

There was a dinner after the ceremony and as an award winner, Hermione and her parents were seated at one of the front tables. When the dinner was over, they sat and chatted with the other people at their table.

"Mom, I'll be right back, I need to go to the loo."

Her mom nodded and continued talking.

On her way back from the toilet, Hermione felt someone slip an arm around her waist and whisper in her ear, "I've been looking for you."

"Yes, and I've been hiding," she hissed back at Terrance.

"Why do you continue denying the fact that we're made for each other?"

"Because you keep denying that fact that we're not! Now get your hand off me." Hermione pulled away from him and walked quickly away, not even looking where she was going, but he only caught up and attempted to lead her into unused rooms. She pushed away from him again and slipped a hand in her purse to grasp her wand.

"Terrance, leave me alone!"

"Not until you agree to go out with me."

"I wouldn't go out with you even if you were the last BOY on earth," she said, putting an emphasis on boy. He hated being called a boy. She heard the soft ballroom music and quickly slipped into the ballroom, moving over to her seat. She saw Terrance sulk off to his seat and put a smile on so as not to alarm her parents.

As they were getting into the car, Mrs. Granger asked, "So, honey, did you have a good time?"

"You bet!" Hermione said, and asked her dad to turn up the radio.

It was 11:47, and the Granger car was stopped at a stoplight. There were sirens somewhere off to the left, but they thought nothing of it. Mr. and Mrs. Granger were talking happily about their daughter being the brightest in the family. Hermione was smiling and laughing along with them.

The light turned green and Mr. Granger pressed lightly on the pedal. Suddenly, the sirens bust into view. Five police cars were chasing a foreign truck with a man at the driver seat and a woman in the passenger seat, and they were driving straight at the Grangers.

~*~

11:49. Mr. Granger looked to his left, a smile still on his face, before Mrs. Granger screamed and the foreign truck slammed into their car and sent both of the vehicles whirling. The force of the crash sent Hermione flying into the door opposite her, breaking the window. Broken glass went everywhere, cutting her face and slicing through her dress. When the car finally came to a stop, Hermione was barely conscious, but she managed to grasp the handle and shove the door open. She collapsed on the floor, broken glass everywhere.

But beyond the sound of everything, all the yelling, all the screaming, the sirens of the ambulance, all she heard was the tiny sound of the vile around her neck smashing into the floor. The Cold Silver splattered all over her, most of it landed on the many cuts she had. Hermione closed her eyes, not wanting to think about the silver seeping into her veins. She bliked, and took in what she thought were many black bruises on her arms. She closed her eyes again and barely heard any noise at all, her brain still trying to process what had happened. Her eyes opened, now clouded over by a milky white, and looked over at the driver of the foreign car. She saw the man take his final breath and the woman that was in the passenger seat scream. She closed her eyes once more.

It seemed like hours, as she lay there, not fully conscious, but not unconscious either, with cameras and people flashing all around her, but it was only 11:59. She moved her head slightly from side to side and faced the night sky, and as the clock struck twelve o' clock, midnight, Hermione opened her eyes, and this time they stayed open. But they weren't her eyes; swirling around and overcoming the whiteness, was an emerald green, and in the other eye, a liquid silver. 


	3. Chapter 3

Draco woke up the next morning and just lay there, thinking still, about the girl. He didn't know why she affected him so. On the train, he had gotten the feeling that she was just as unhappy as he, if not more. He couldn't imagine what could be worse than the hole he was in, though.

Draco sat up and lifted the sleeve of his left arm. The empty eyes of the Dark Mark glared up at him, naming him a traitor. He was a traitor to both sides. He had willingly accepted the Mark at first, but that night, when he realized he wouldn't be able to fulfill the Dark Lord's wishes and kill Dumbledore, he also realized that he never would be able to kill anyone.

He had fled with Snape, thinking it was the only way to escape the Ministry, but when Snape had turned his back, Draco had Apparated back to the Malfoy mansion. He had hidden there without fear that his parents would come back. His father was in Azkaban and his mother was no where to be found. He waited a week before throwing Floo powder into the fireplace in his room and calling out, 'the headmistress's office, Hogwarts', and stepped into the fire. He walked back out and into the office, wand out. Professor McGonagall was seated behind the former headmaster's desk, but stood up and took out her own wand as he appeared. He had walked up to the desk and placed his wand there, and backed away.

They had talked then. She had allowed him to explain what had happened up at the tower and he had allowed her to give him a small dose of Veritaserum, insuring that he did not lie. She had then taken a bowl out of one of the cupboards, filled with a silvery substance. He had seen one in one of the shops in Hogsmeade, and knew it was a Pensive. He had allowed her to extract these memories from him and see for herself that he wasn't lying. After seeing then that he had not gone back to Voldemort and was no longer loyal to him, she had agreed to allow him to return to Hogwarts for his final year and for safety. She had him swear first, though, that if he got even ten yards near Harry Potter and his friends, he would be expelled, with no second chances. He had agreed and the new headmistress had confined him to the Slytherin dorms for the rest of the summer, only allowing him to go back to his mansion to gather the rest of his things. Then, with McGonagall's permission, he had taken the train back to Hogwarts.

Now here he was, thinking someone else had bigger problems than him. Yeah right.

~*~

"Is that really her?"

"I think so,"

"What do you think happened?"

"You're asking me?"  
Hermione groaned and shook a pillow at the voices that were disturbing the precious blackness of her sleep. Two girls squealed and she heard two thunks.

She sat up and looked around. On the floor on her left, Lavender was looking up at her with wide eyes, and on her right, also on the floor, was Parvati, with the fear to match.

"What are you guys doing?" she asked groggily, and annoyed. She was tired of people gawking at her appearance.

"Nothing! Nothing!" they chorused, and ran off down the stairs. Hermione sighed and walked into the bathroom to shower. She stood in the water when she was done, and let the scorching dropletts numb her skin. She stepped out and stood in front of the full length mirror, her hair still dripping wet and looked at somebody, but certainly not what she used to be. Most of the cuts from the glass had healed into a series of thin white scars running every direction. She turned her neck up and traced a long thin white scar from her ear along the base of her jaw line to her chin. Another, not quite as long or as white but still there, ran from the far corner of her left eye halfway down her cheek. She sighed again.

She dressed, fixed her hair and stuffed her wand in her pocket. Then she grabbed her bag and walked out of the dormitory down to the common room.

The common room was by this time full of students and when she reached the bottom of the stairs, all of them stopped what they were doing to look at her. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair so that some of it fell in front of her left eye, concealing the silver. She surveyed the room before walking out into the crowd towards the portrait. It was like a knife cutting through butter; that was how easy people moved out of her way. When she got out into the cool darkness of the corridor, she sighed with relief. Then she made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast.

~*~  
Draco was munching on a piece of toast away from the whispers and points from his peers, when he heard the doors to the Great Hall open. The person who walked through them barely made a sound when she walked over to the Griffindor table. The girl had psychedelic hair. He watched as she sat between two boys, one of them with glasses, the other with fiery red hair. He made the connection but couldn't believe it. This dark girl couldn't be the bushy haired book worm from last year. He decided he would find out for sure when he saw her get up, ten minutes after getting her schedule, and walked out.

He stuffed the rest of his toast into his mouth, grabbed his things and rushed out of the Great Hall after her. He spotted her walking out into the grounds, making not a sound. She looked so angry, yet so sad at the same time. Draco narrowed his eyes. This definitely was not Granger.

She sat out near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, but didn't go in. Then she took out a book and started to read. He hid behind a tree, trying to get a glimpse of her face. Maybe if I get just get a little closer, he thought, and took a step closer.

CRACK!

He looked down to see a broken twig beneath his foot. Crap, he thought as her head jerked up. He was right, in a way; it was Hermione, but it wasn't the same bushy haired book worm.

Hermione heard a twig break and looked up. A tall, blonde boy was standing half way behind a tree, looking at her. Her eyes flashed as she stood up and brushed her hair out of her face, allowing him to see the silver eye. Her eyebrows clashed together and she whipped out her wand. She took a leaf out of Harry's book and jerked her wand, saying Levicorpus in her head. Everything fell out of his trousers as he was flipped over and dangled in the air by the spell.

Hermione's anger evaporated, and was replaced by shock, as she realized who was before her. She stepped closer to him, examining his face. He cringed as he saw her haunted eyes. Hermione shook with rage and pulled back. Then she punched him. Hard. His head fell back limp as he was knocked unconscious. Hermione doubled back and got her things. Then she walked passed him, kicking his bag and scattering the contents on her way. She didn't even bother undoing the spell. She figured, spells had to run out some time, right? 


	4. Chapter 4

Draco woke up with a horrible head rush and he realized he was hanging upside down. He saw his wand on the floor and tried to get it, but it was just out of his reach. So he resorted to the only thing he could do:

"Hey is any body there? Help!" he went on like this for about fifteen minutes, his face getting steadily redder, before he saw a small Hufflepuff walking towards him timidly. "Hey, you there! Yeah, you…get me down from here. Here, say 'Finite', and that should do it. There you go - Oof!" he said as the spell released him. He lay there in a crumpled heap for a few seconds before sticking his thumb up and saying something he didn't say very often. "Thanks." He heard the little Hufflepuff scamper away.

He stood up and stretched, hearing several pops. Then he looked at his scattered belongings, and started gathering them up. He looked at his watch then let his wrist drop; Granger had made him skip three classes already and he was late, for Potions no less. Well, he reasoned, at least Snape isn't teaching any more. He put his bag over his shoulder and headed towards the castle.

"Ah, Mr. Malfoy I presume?" asked a tall blond woman from the front of the class. "Yes, it seems like you've finally decided to join us. Well, we were just working on a Befuddlement potion at the moment, and seeing as you're too late to start another, why don't you sit with, hmm, ah yes, why don't you help Ms. Granger finish up her potion."

Her face showed no emotion as he plopped down in the seat next to her, but Ron and Harry glared up at him from the opposite seats.

"Right then Granger, what do you need?" She gave no response, however, but got up, gathered her things, and walked over to one of the cauldrons at the back of the room. Then she lit a fire underneath, and disappeared into the potions cupboard, coming back out with the ingredients she would need to start a bran new potion, and set to work. Even so, thirty minutes later, she was the first one to get it done correctly. The actual potion took only about twenty minutes, but it was a very complicated potion and many of the students had to do it five times at least.

When the bell rang she got her book bag and walked away before anyone could catch up to her, not even Ron or Harry. Draco turned in a flask of the stuff Hermione had left behind and ran out looking for her. He spotted her walking in the direction of the library. He should have known. He ran after her.

~*~

Hermione changed course when she sensed some one following her. She walked quickly towards the library but when she rounded a corner, out of sight from everyone, she dematerialized and floated up towards the ceiling, spreading out to become invisible. Below her stood a boy with blond hair, looking around for someone or something. She ignored him and floated towards her original destination to spend the rest of the lunch period there.

~*~

Draco looked all over the library, but never found the girl he was looking for. It was only when he looked out the window and spotted a lone figure walking towards the Quidditch Pitch that he decided to look there. He didn't know why he was going there, Granger never liked Quidditch, but he followed a hunch.

He couldn't believe his eyes; Granger was holding a broom and looking at it as though she were some kind of book expert that was on her first field test. Well, that sure sounded like Granger, always stuck with her nose in a book. He walked towards her, trying to be quiet, but she heard him. She turned her head in alarm and did something he never would have thought she would do in a million years. She jumped on the broom and took off like a rocket.

Draco stood rooted to the spot as he watched the supposedly clueless Quidditch figure speed toward the stands before pulling up and spiralling in the air. He shook his head and rushed to the broom shed. He picked out one of the brooms reserved for the older kids and flew off after her. Granger was hovering near the goal posts on one side of the pitch. He flew cautiously over and got within a broomstick's length of her before she pulled her broom up and flew over his head. Draco swung around and sped after her. He caught up with her and flew beside her with just enough time to shout, "I just want to talk to you!" before she shot off in another direction. That was it, he was done being nice.

He urged his broom till it was at its top speed and caught up to Granger again. He made a wild sweep for her robes and got a handful, pulling her off her broom. She had no choice but to grab his arm, and hung there knowing, that if he decided to let go, she would fall over a hundred feet.

Granger looked down in time to see her broom crash to the floor.

"Look at me, Mudblood!" he yelled at her, and she looked up. "What the hell is your problem!" She glared at him and reached up to get a hold on the back of the broom. Then she pulled hard on his hand and he slipped off the broom. Now they were both hanging with only Hermione's hand keeping them from falling. Her new found strength was good but she wouldn't be able to keep them both up like this for very long.

Draco felt the broom drop about twenty feet and couldn't keep from yelling out. He looked up and saw a smirk, much like his own, plastered on what used to be a very kind face. "What's the matter? The great Draco Malfoy can't handle a little fall?" They dropped another twenty feet. Her voice was different; it wasn't gentile as it had been, but full of spite and malice. The broom dropped another fifty some feet.

"What the hell is your problem?" he yelled again.

"YOU! You are my problem! Who the hell do you think you are? Coming back here and making yourself right at home after…" She trailed off and Draco took the opportunity to say, "What? After what, Granger?"

"AFTER KILLING DUMBLEDORE!" She let go of his arm but he was only five feet from the ground. Then she swung onto the broom and took off again. Draco grabbed the other broom from the floor and flew after her. When he was level with her once more, he grabbed the front of her broom and held on tight. She looked over at him with so much hatred, he almost let go, but managed not to. Then he shouted, "I didn't kill him! I didn't kill anyone! Snape killed him."

"That's what Harry said too, but why should I believe you? Why should I believe anyone! All any one does is lie to me now!"

"Go ask McGonagall! Go ask her! Go look in the pensive; all my memories are in there. Do whatever you have to, but know that I didn't kill anyone!" She glared at him again and this time he let go. A second later, she flew into a steep dive.

He dove after her, intending to catch her again, but he didn't get the chance; she pulled out of the dive and shot off towards the other set of goal posts. She was about to fly through the middle goal but she pulled up just a bit and jumped off her broom. Draco watched in amazement as she landed on the hoop and stood up, perfectly balanced, her back to him.

"What are you?" he asked incredulously.

She looked down and whispered, "I don't know." But he didn't hear her. She jumped back on her broom and flew out of sight. 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Hermione sat on the ledge of the astronomy tower, the thought of falling to her death not even phasing her. This had been her most recent hide out. Ron had found her behind the one eyed witch, Ginny had found her in the room of requirement, and Harry had found her in one of the Quidditch stands. The library didn't work any more either. By now, every one in the castle knew about the new Hermione, and they lined up every day outside the library to try and catch a glimpse of her. The tower was her last resort. It was better though; quiet, fresh, peaceful, and nobody dared come up here without a class since Dumbledore fell.

Her broomstick conversation with a certain little ferret had been ringing in her ears from the moment he had said that he hadn't killed the previous Headmaster. She had gone to the Headmistress's chambers to see if what Malfoy had said really was true, and to her dismay, it was. But that still wouldn't stop her from taking out her anger on him. He was, after all, the initial cause of the death. He was the one who had let the death eaters in, and had caused all those horrible near death experiences last year; Katie and Ron. No, he would suffer, and it would be by her hand. With her new abilities, he would not get away with what he did. And now she didn't need an invisibility cloak to be invisible, which meant that Harry didn't have to know what she was doing.

She fell asleep in the astronomy tower, and got up at four to only to dematerialize, float up to her dorm, and fall asleep again. She woke up once again to see two eager faces looking down at her. She sat up and scowled, sending the girls running towards the door. Hermione got up and took advantage of the empty space to get ready.

She managed to make it through the day by seeing as little as possible of Harry and Ron and avoiding Malfoy entirely. Throughout the next week however, it was her friends that she avoided, and turned every possible sighting of Malfoy to her advantage. For example, one minute he would be walking up the corridor, the next, Malfoy would find himself hanging upside down from a candle holder. Another case involved being ganged up on suddenly by several burly Slytherins all claiming to have been bothered by him. There were several incidents like this within the week but it was only on this last incident that Malfoy noticed a smirk very much like his own belonging to a girl with chameleon hair and a silver eye.

Granger, he thought with spite, finally realizing that all these 'coincidences' weren't really coincidences at all, and he made it a point to follow her again, but this time, at a greater distance.

Hermione walked slowly up the astronomy tower steps, remembering with heart dropping sadness how they were unable to break into the tower the year before. As was her habit now, she sat up on the ledge for a few minutes, gathering her thoughts, then curled up into a ball on the floor and fell asleep, setting her mind's alarm clock to four.

…

There! He got her! She was going up to the astronomy tower, and it was there that he would confront her, this very night. He didn't care about the promise he had made McGonagall, not when he would finally get his revenge. Oho, he thought as he climbed the steps, now he would get her back; now he would make her pay for this weeks troubles; now he would- His thoughts stopped dead along with his feed as they hit the top stair and opened the door. He had expected to fling open the door and confront her in a full blown out duel.

He did not expect to be stopped dead in his tracks by the sight before him.

A girl, it couldn't possibly be Granger, lay on the floor, shivering slightly; moonlight hit her face perfectly and highlighted the chopped hair beautifully. And now he didn't know what he was doing. He walked over to the sleeping figure, took off his cloak, and threw it over her. Then he walked quickly, quietly, and cold back to his dorm.

The next morning, Malfoy was splattered with food when his cloak was thrown on his plate. He dug egg out of his eyes and looked up angrily only to have his anger quelled by surprise as Granger looked down at him. He could practically feel the waves of coolness coming off her and shivered involuntarily.

Stay away… said a harsh voice in his head, and Hermione walked away. Great, she thought, now I'm gonna have to find another hiding place.

She walked outside into the sun then melded into the shadows when people started to stare. Then she walked over to a shady spot by the lake and started to read, not even bothering to light her wand.

Despite her promise to herself, she did not find another place to be alone. She liked the astronomy tower; all she had to do was lock the door, push all the sadness from her mind, and numb her thoughts. There; perfect, (but not really).

It puzzled her, when she had found Malfoy's cloak over her, it surprised her. She didn't want him to be nice to her; she wanted him to spite her. It would make it a lot easier to get him back. She sill didn't let it stop her completely though. So instead of tricking him twice a day, she'd only cause trouble for him once a day. It was still driving him crazy.

…..

She was crying again. She would never let herself be seen like this in public, so she cried in private. She hated being like this; different, even by the laws of the wizarding world. She hated how people stared at her, looked on at her with disgust, like she was some sort of alien. But none of them knew what it was like, being like this; being cooped up in your own subconscious because you're too afraid of letting your self out, too afraid of what you could do to people.

It was horrible, terrifying, knowing that you were a danger to yourself and everyone around you, yet not being able to do a thing about it except keep it all hidden away. All she could hope for was that she didn't hurt anybody, and even that was too much to ask. It haunted her dreams, or should I say, her nightmares, and she would wake up a lot in cold sweat. The only way she could really keep every one she cared about safe, was to lock herself up, throw away the key, and never let any one in. this she did, every day, every night, every time she felt she was getting too close to some one, she would recede into herself and stay an unemotional shell on the outside.

The tears fell silent, though constant, down her otherwise emotionless stone face. She hated being so weak, so vulnerable, and she wanted to throw her self off this wretched tower, and fall into oblivion. But she couldn't. Her body wouldn't let her.

Hermione sighed again, and rested her head in her arms on the cold stone wall, thinking how peaceful it must be to just slip away.

She heard the door open with a slight creak and opened one eye, her hand already lighting up with a slight silver glow. The swish of a cloak, the scuffle of feet coming to stand beside her and look out into the skies, and she knew who it was. She let the glow of her hand fade, but she remained alert, and pulled her head up to stare into the distance.

"I told you to stay away," said Hermione in a weary, but cold voice.

"I know what you said," came the icy reply, "but when have you ever known me to listen to anybody?"

"I've never known you at all, and you're setting yourself up for a disappointment if you think I'd ever want to."

"Oh, I know you'd never want to, and I would never want to get to know you either, but to go back to my first statement, I don't listen to any body."

"Then what the hell do you want."

"Now, now, there's no reason to get defensive, I really just wanted to come and get you back for all those pranks you've played on me. They're really quite annoying."

"Duh, stupid, they were meant to be." She paused, "and now?"

"Huh?" he said.

"You said you _wanted_ to come up here to get me back, passed tense. Now what are you up here for? Let me guess, to gloat?"

"No," Hermione was surprised to hear a sense of gentleness in his voice, "I saw you coming up here alone, and you looked upset, so I thought I'd try to come cheer you up, or at least keep you company."

That surprised her, but she gave a dark chuckle and said, "What if I don't want to be cheered up?"

"Well, that still leaves the company."

She scoffed, "And why would I want the company of a slimy little ferret whose sole purpose is to make my life miserable? Give me one reason and maybe I won't throw you off the tower."

He paused, "Because I'm the only one who can stand your company."

She continued to look ahead, but put her head back in her arms when she felt more tears coming. He was right of course. Not even Harry or Ron wanted to hang around with her like they used to. Well, mostly Ron. He would run soon as look at her. Harry was a bit more tolerant, but even he wouldn't be seen around with her for very long.

She hated that he was right, and she hated herself even more, for tolerating him for this long.

"Granger" came his voice, "I'll be frank; people miss you. They miss the old bookish you. I know this is odd, coming from me, but it's the truth, and you would see it too if you weren't so stubborn."

That's it, she thought, no more.

"You're just like the rest of them," she hissed, finally standing up and facing him, tears gone, "You don't know this feeling, you don't know what it is to be ridiculed first for being Muggle born, then for transforming into some kind of freak and not even you know what's going on. Do you see this eye?" she stepped close to him and flipped her hair away from her face so that her left eye was exposed, "Do you know what it dose? It kills. I can just look and you and kill you, with one look. I assume you saw that glow around my hand when you came in?" he nodded nervous now, and she was getting hysterical. She continued, "If that light were to touch you, you would literally be vaporized. The worse thing is that when I dematerialize, when I literally spit my self apart till only the atoms remain clumped in a cloud, I can dematerialize other people along with me, and_ not put them back together if I don't want to_."

He started, and backed away from her, but she followed and kept going.

"I can do all of these things and more, if I get too emotional, too angry, I can't control my anger when it gets away from me, and I don't know why. The only way I can make sure I don't hurt anybody is by hiding. Nobody gets it! Nobody knows why I suddenly am like this, dark and desolate, but they only see the outside. If they knew what was going on, if you only knew…" her voice faded, and she grasped his forearms, as though she were about to shake him, but she just seemed to be holding on for support. She had backed him into a corner, literally.

She was looking at him with a pitiful look, willing him to understand how hard it was for her, and clamped her hand to her mouth as she realized who she had just spilled her deepest secrets, her deepest feelings to. The ferret, Draco Malfoy. She looked down and took her hand away from him quickly. Then she walked back to the sill, eyes wide, hand still over her mouth, and tried to hide the new tears away.

Draco stayed where he was for a minute; trying to grasp this new information that she had just given him, unwillingly no doubt. But then he just realized that the pressure was too great inside her, the pressure to tell this to someone. It had gotten so great that she didn't care who she told, so long as she told somebody.

He looked at her, and she seemed frail. He walked over to stand by her again, thinking to himself, who am I and what have I done with Draco Malfoy?

She glanced at him and spoke, "You're still here?" A bit of steel edge had come back to her voice.

"Look," he said, still thinking that he was crazy to be saying this, "I'm really sorry about what you think you are, but its not what other people see you as."

"Oh yea, then what do they see me as, pray tell."

"They see you as…they see you as…I don't know what they see you as really, but I know they don't see you as a monster, and I know that's what you think you are. And I know I don't see you as a monster."

Hermione looked at him and raised her eyebrows. Traces of tears were still visible on her face, but she looked stronger. He suddenly regretted telling her that last bit, but she was still looking at him so he continued.

"I see you as a strong willed, smart, not so bad looking, witch. And I really think you should give people more credit than what you do. Maybe they see you the same way." Hermione looked back at the stars and said, "What did you drink?"

"What?" he asked and she said, "You just said something really un-Malfoy like, and the only way I can see you saying it is if you were sick or drunk, so what did you drink? Do you have a headache? Do you feel a bit tipsy?"

Draco looked at her and laughed softly.

"You know, I know you probably won't believe me, and I don't blame you, but I'm really not such a bad guy."

"Your right," she said, "I don't believe it." she added sarcastically, "But I trust you'll prove me wrong."

They looked at the skies again in silence until Hermione said, "And if you breathe a word of anything I've told you, or even of this meeting, you'll be a pile of dust floating on the black lake by sundown tomorrow." Draco laughed nervously, "Oh yea, real funny Granger." She said nothing.

"Granger, you were just joking…weren't you?"

She looked at him with a small smile on her face, and shrugged. He rolled his eyes and smiled back and they looked back at the sky.

They talked no more after that, just stood in silence, until Hermione stood up and walked to the door. Then she walked back to her dormitory, crawled into her bed, and for once, slept without dreaming, and with out waking till the time peace sounded beside her in the morning. She got up an hour before the other time peaces rang and finished getting ready before anyone else was up. She was the first one to the great hall for breakfast, and ate in peace, reading Hogwarts, a History, for the fifth time. She left before more than ten people were there. 


	6. Chapter 6

After that week, Draco was able to walk in the corridors without getting slapped, ganged up on, or falling. He still tripped occasionally, but that was his own fault, at least, that's what he thought. Not only that, but it seamed that he had a certain someone looking out for him; two days after his encounter with Hermione, he had been backed up into a corner again, not by Granger, but by the same bunch of Slytherin boys that Hermione had set on him the last time. One minute they had been cursing at him and saying something about blood traitors, the next, they had been hanging by their underwear each on their own candle holder up on the wall. Draco had then seen Hermione rounding the corner, a slight smile on her face. He had known better than to follow her. The next time he had passed her in the hall, a bit of color had come back in to her face. They had not acknowledged each other, but neither had they exchanged unrepeatable comments as was usual for them. Draco liked to think that his effort to try and understand her had helped in this new unspoken truce.

Hermione looked at herself one morning and noticed a few changes She wasn't as pale as she had been, but she still looked somewhat like a ghost. And the bags under her eyes were still there, but they were lessened somewhat. She felt better too, like some great burden had been lifted off of her.

She hated it.

She hated that she had just spilled her guts out to a ferret of all people, and she had started to feel better because of it. She also hated the fact that she had started to look after him. She had only done it once, and when she had realized it, she had made up for it by tripping him quite a few times.

But quite the contrary, she also felt happy. She felt happy that someone could stand her company, however stiff it might be, and that she could stand that person back.

They had met on more than one occasion, but the meetings weren't set. One night, Hermione might be there, just staring out into space and Draco might come and join her, or the reverse. Another night, Draco might be there, but Hermione might already be in bed, or tending to another errand. The reverse goes for that one as well. Yet another night, neither of them might go, and the tower would have nobody but it's self for company. But that was ok; the tower didn't mind.

The meetings were mostly one way, but enjoyed, on both their parts. Malfoy had taken to telling Hermione about his day, just to break the silence. Hermione never responded, but that was ok too. Draco was just happy that somebody could listen to him, and not be disgusted or spiteful. Hermione hadn't spoken to him since that first meeting, but it was a Saturday night that would be the exception, five weeks after that night.

"It's weird," Malfoy was saying. Hermione, silent as ever, was watching a threshal fly over the forbidden forest, "I used to be the prince of slytherin, now I'm the outcast. I hate being hated. I hate the way people look at me, people who used to be my friends. It's like they think I'm …." He left off, and Hermione finished for him, "Filth."

"Huh?" he questioned.

"They treat you like filth," she repeated, "They treat you like you're not even worth the time of day. And if they treat you like that, I would've thought even you would realize that they weren't really your friends."

"But I was a Prince," he said, "I was somebody that nobody dared cross. I ruled Slytherin!"

Hermione sighed and turned to face him, her head propped up on her elbow, "If you want to be the 'Prince of Slytherin'again, all you have to do is go and please your dark lord; kill somebody. Here, have a go at me." she stepped back, her arms wide open, and invitation to an attack. He just looked at her, "That's not funny," he said, a sorrowful look on his face.

"Oh you'll have to forgive my new, dark sense of humor. Came with the territory." she flicked her hair from her silver eye, and looked away.

There was silence.

"Why do you say you're dangerous?" Malfoy asked.

"Were you not listening the first time I told you?"

"No I was, I just don't think you look very dangerous." Hermione looked down and smirked, then suddenly rounded on him, her left hand lit, and pointing in Malfoy's direction. He was lifted into the air and dangled far over the edge of the astronomy tower. He yelled, but Hermione only looked bored, with her right hand on her hip and her left hand holding Malfoy up.

"What was that about not thinking I'm dangerous?"

"Alright, alright!" he sputtered, "I was wrong, you're very dangerous!"

Hermione brought him closer and set him down on the edge. He jumped into the tower and fell to the floor, almost hugging it.

"You're lucky I didn't drop you," she said, looking down at him, "that was only the second time I was able to levitate somebody."  
Draco got up shakily from the floor and asked, "What happened to you? Why are you like this?"

"I already told you."

"No, you just told me what it's like to be you, not how you got this way."

She paused, "You wouldn't want to know."

"If I didn't want to know, I wouldn't have asked you." She was silent, "you used to be so…so cheerful."

"I know what I used to be like Malfoy." Hermione snapped, still not looking at him, her hand lighting up again.

"Maybe it would be better if I just shut up," he suggested.

"Maybe you're right." she growled. There was silence again.

"Or maybe," started Draco, "maybe it would be better for you if you told somebody." Hermione was quiet, "Come on, who am I gonna tell?"

She sighed and gave in. She told him about the prize, then about the accident. She told him about the silver she had mixed up, and how she thought it had poisoned her. She also told him about other things how she could hear better, see farther. She didn't need to tell him how she felt, she'd already done that. She paced around the tower, thinking out loud what kind of ingredient she had put in it to make the silver merge with her blood, and what she did, why she was being punished in this way. For what reason?

"What did I do to deserve being treated like this? Why me?" she finished quietly, coming to a stop in front of Malfoy.

She was near tears again by this time, and that was when Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, pureblood Slytherin Prince, came over and hugged her. At first she didn't respond; she was too shocked. She just stood there, hands by her side, eyes wide; but she hadn't felt a hug in so long, nobody had wanted to come close to her, and she hadn't helped them. His arms tightened. Her eyes welled up with a whole new set of tears, and she unconsciously put her arms around him. He pulled her closer and she buried her head in his cloak.

She finally pulled away from him and looked at him, her hair hiding her left eye. He looked back at her with a kindness that had never been there before, and started to brush away the hair. Hermione looked away quickly but Draco said, "You wouldn't hurt me."

Hermione sobbed and said, "How do you know. How do you know this isn't the moment I've been waiting for to get you back? And even if it weren't, I can't control it remember? It was lucky when I looked at you that time, so full of emotions I was… ". She stopped, choking on more tears.

"Well now's a good time as any to try."

Draco gently grabbed her chin and lifted her face. She closed her eyes as he brushed her hair away. "Come on," he said, "open."

She paused, then slowly opened her eyes and a set of silver and green met a pair of blue-gray eyes. Nothing happened.

"Told you so," said Draco and she laughed; her first real laugh in a while.

He pulled away from her and led her to the sill.

"Now," he said, "let's try to tame the rest of the beast."

"Who are you calling a beast?"

He smirked, "I dunno, well, you did call yourself dangerous, didn't you?" Her expression went blank. Then she punched his shoulder and turned away, shaking her head. 


	7. Chapter 7

"I swear, you're gonna kill me one of these days," huffed Draco, leaning against the wall after a particularly hard kick from Hermione.

"Hey, don't blame me," countered Hermione who was also out of breath, a bit less than her opponent, "You started it." They had met in the Astronomy tower that night, by coincidence as was usual for them, and were in the middle of one of their weekly spars. Draco had come up with the idea that Hermione learn how to fight, because if she could control herself in a fight, she would have a better chance of controlling her new magic. It did seem to be helping, because she was getting a better control of dematerializing, and lifting objects into the air, but Draco was starting to regret his decision to be her opponent.

"Yeah, yeah I know. Do it again, 'cept this time, try not to kick me as hard. I'm barely recovering from last time! Go!"

Hermione took a final breath before attacking again. She took a right swing at Draco's head, ducked one of his kicks, and aimed a kick of her own at his stomach. A muffled "Oomph!" told her she had hit her mark.

"Better?" she asked sarcastically as she backed away slightly, and Draco replied, "Not really, you still hit like a girl." She stuck her tong out at him and took up her stance.

"That's enough, we're done for tonight. I don't want those bruises to get any worse."

"Shut up. They don't hurt anymore, and besides, they're almost gone." (This was a lie. They had actually started to appear all over her body and looked like they were taking shape and definition, but she didn't even want to think about what they were forming into.)

"Fine," said Malfoy, "but don't complain tomorrow." He took up his own stance. "GO!" They crashed into each other again and Hermione let fly a series of blows and a well aimed kick. "Better?" she shouted.

"It would be, if you'd had your eyes open instead of blindly taking the shot."

"Yeah well, maybe if you actually fought back, instead of just letting me get you, I would put more effort into it!" said Hermione, getting annoyed, but Draco only laughed slightly; it was somewhat of a dark chuckle though.

"You don't want me to really try," he said, "just because of the simple fact that you would end up with twice as many cuts and bruises that you've given me."

"Oh come on Malfoy," said Hermione, she didn't like being told that she was the inferior one, "What's the matter? Holding back just because I'm a girl?"

"Hermione," warned Draco; he had a feeling where this was going. He hadn't known her that long, but he knew her enough to know when her temper was getting away from her, and when it did, she said and did things that she would regret later. But she didn't take the hint.

"I know you're dark lord taught you better than that!" Malfoy stiffened, and Hermione knew she had hit a nerve. She paused, her anger all gone, and tried to apologize, "Draco, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!' but her words were met with deaf ears. Something was wrong. She put her guard up and her suspicions were confirmed when Draco spoke again, but there was malice in his voice, and for a moment, he sounded just like the old Draco Malfoy.

"You're right, I have been taught better. You want me to fight? Fine, but just remember, you brought this on yourself Granger." And he attacked. Hermione barely had time to block a kick that left her forearm stinging and roll off to one side before he was one her again. He landed a blow to her left side and flipped her over so that she was on her stomach. She felt his weight as he got on top of her and pulled one of her arms behind her back. Her other arm was stuck underneath her. She struggled but he only laughed and bent down to whisper in her ear, "What's the matter Granger, can't back up your words?" She hadn't imagined it; this wasn't the Draco that Hermione had gotten to know. She threw her head back hard and it crashed in with Malfoy's head. He let out a grunt of pain and lost his hold on her, enabling her to throw him off and stand up. She quickly faced him and saw him still holding his nose. She spoke, "I said I was sorry. I know you left that part of you behind."

"And yet you said it any way," she made a run for the door but he got there first and swung her back into the room. "But you're right, I don't need to be worried about being nice, and I don't need to associate myself with a mudblood like you." There was that word again. Oddly enough, she had started to think that she would never hear that word from him again, but she had been very wrong about a lot of things lately.

He pushed her down again and tried to get his hands around her neck, but didn't quite get the chance. Her hand glowed and she put it flat against his chest. He was blown backwards and she stood up again, but she had barely got her balance back before he was on her again, swinging punches and kicking at every inch of unprotected body Hermione had. She was still shocked at how quickly he had changed.  
Hermione was finally able to get in a kick at his still bruised chest and sent him backwards. She got a chance to speak, "I never would've trusted you if I had known you would turn out like this, just the same as you've been for the past six years! But I guess I can't put anything past a Malfoy."

"You're right, but then again, you didn't have much of a choice did you. Nobody even took a second look at you until I showed up. Not even your own friends can stand you!" Ouch.

They crashed into each other again, but Hermione had lost most of her will to his words. She only had her anger left, but her anger paled in comparison to his. He somehow got behind her and shoved her so that she was sent flying into the wall. She ducked his punch one last time and tried to turn so that she would be facing him and not taking blind hits. That had been somewhat of a mistake though. Hermione aimed a fist at his head, pushing all of her energy into the punch, but Draco avoided it easily. He caught her fist, grabbed her other wrist, and shoved her into the wall again, so that she was sandwiched between the wall and Draco. It was extremely uncomfortable for her, but Draco didn't even seem fazed by his action. She saw a hint of uncertainty in his eyes though, when they locked with her silver and green eyes. She was angry, (and why wouldn't she be; she had just been put down, and bested as easily as a first year) but so was Draco, at being insulted horribly even by accident. But then there was a pause, and a little of Hermione's anger melted into confusion when she saw a different emotion come into Draco's eyes; she couldn't be sure, but, something had definitely changed.

Suddenly, there was no space left between them and Draco's face was only inches from her own. She drew back from the sudden movement, forgetting that there was a wall behind her, and hitting her head. Draco pulled back slightly as well, seemingly surprised by his own movement. When the stars in her vision faded, she opened her eyes again to see Draco still looking at her intensely. Then he leaned forward, but only whispered in her ear, "I warned you, didn't I?" and pulled back. Hermione slid to the floor, and looked down, still in shock at what she thought he had almost done. She heard the door open, and slam shut, and knew that Draco was gone.

-

The next few weeks were strained for both of them. Neither of them had been to the tower, and both were starting to slack in their grades. Hermione, who had started hanging out with Harry and Ron lately, had grown distant again, and a few days after their fight, weird things had started happening to her, weirder than usual. One particular thing being that the "bruises" on her back had gotten worse. She had been sitting eating breakfast with Harry and Ron one morning until Harry had pointed out that she had red stuff on the back of her shirt. It was only when he had tried to brush it off and she flinched that they realized that it was blood. She had left immediately after that and wasn't seen for more than a week. When she reappeared, the darkness under her eyes returned.

Draco was taking hits and insults left and right from the Slytherins and nobody was there to reassure him and help him avoid everything. On top of that, he had forgotten the way through the secret passageways Hermione had taught him. Neither of them had realized how much they needed each other.

When they passed in the halls, they would look away and pretend the other wasn't there. There were no insults exchanged, but the silence was different from their first arrangement; colder, sadder. And each time they passed, it would be easier and easier to look away. Eventually, they didn't even notice each other. It was as if the other really had disappeared.

The extent that their friendship had fallen was unclear until one of the times that Draco was ambushed by five of the more burly students in his house. Despite his fighting experience, he was tackled and throne into a dark hallway. His yells were left unheard by other students of different houses because they were too afraid to contradict the large Slytherins. And even if they did hear him, and weren't afraid, most of them thought that a beating was what Draco Malfoy deserved. Hermione walked by the corridor with Ron and Harry laughing quietly at something the redhead had said. It was a hollow laugh to Draco, because to everyone else, it had substance. She was happy. She wasn't as sad as she used to be, and he had had nothing to do with it. 

She looked to her right long enough to see that he was in serious trouble, but when his eyes met hers, pleading for just a small bit of help, there was no recognition in her eyes. In fact, Draco hadn't noticed Hermione in so long, that she herself wasn't recognizable for the first second. Her eyes and hair were dull; she had put an enchantment over her eyes so that they would appear brown, and she had grown out her hair, but it was somewhat limp, and had none of the shin it used to have. She had even gone back to wearing her regular plain, old school uniform. She was trying to be her old self, and it seemed that people were falling for it.

But that day when she passed Draco without a second glance, he knew that it was all just an act to try and distance herself from him. He had hurt her so much, that she was even willing to change, again, just to forget about him. 


	8. Chapter 8

Hey guys, so this one took the longest because it's the last one. I tried to make it as interesting and as passionate as I could. Don't forget to review and let me know what you thought, enjoy.

"Want a bit of toast? You havent eaten anything this morning Hermione." She had hardly eaten anything for a week now. It had been that long since she seen the scuffle in the corridor, and Draco had been wrong; she had recognized him, and it had taken all of her will to hold back from helping him, though she didn't know why she hadn't. Then she remembered: it hurt too much to think of him, and it was almost too much to bear, thinking that he was the one in the corridor getting the stuffing beaten out of him. So she had pretended that it wasn't him. She had barely caught herself in time from flinging herself towards him and blasting each and everyone of those boys to the other end of the school.

She had tried to pretend that it wasn't him, but he had been in her thoughts every waking moment after that day and in her dreams every night. It was the first time she had thought about him in weeks and remembering him was like dipping her head in a bucket of ice water. It hurt.

Hermione had seen him two days after walking around with a crutch, black and blue all over. She had gasped and ran from him when he turned around. She had avoided looking at him after that, in fact she had hardly done anything productive. She was slacking even worse now and the darkness in her eyes was as bad as ever.

She was tired of this. So, so tired of this. She didn't think she could pretend, very badly but pretend none the less to be her old self. She hated her appearance, she hated how hollow and fake she felt inside, and she hated most that she didn't have any one to talk to any more. Harry and Ron, they treated her how they had before the accident, and that wasn't what she needed. They didn't even know about the accident. She wasn't who she had been, and she never would be. Hermione finally understood that…

"Hermione!"

"Huh?"

"You zoned out there for a bit, I was just telling Harry how many first years think they can ride a broom stick," he laughed, "You should come watch them, I think they're even worse than you -" he was silence by a glass of orange juice spilling over his eggs. He yelled and looked down and by the time he looked up again, Hermione was already half way to the great hall doors.

"What did I say" he asked clulessly. Harry just shook his head.

Hermione didn't say a word to anyone for the rest of the day. She was, in Ron's words "zoned out" and she hardly paid attention to any of her classes.

That night she laid awake for hours after everyone else had gone to sleep, thinking about Draco's bruised face, his broken leg, and his helpless expression…she needed him, and she wished he knew how much.

Draco ate dinner the next day alone and separated while the rest of his table shot him dirty looks and flicked bits of food at him. He was still hurting a couple of weeks after his 'near death experience' as he had decided to call it. Madam Pompfry had refused to keep him more than a night after the day and dismissed his injuries as minor. _Minor my arse, _ he thought. Finally, he grabbed his crutch and hobbled out of the great hall casting a glance over at the Griffindor table as he went. She looked really horrible, he thought. Skinnier than usual and her face had a sunken look to it.

He made to push the doors open and heard a crunching sound. A second later he was on the floor, his crutch having broke. A few more seconds later, he was close up and personal with the great hall floor.

The hall was silent for only a few seconds as all heads turned to see what had made the crash, then the slytherin table burst into aplause and the rest of the house tables followed soon after. He tried getting up only to fall back down again when he realized he couldn't move his legs they were stuck together. He looked up long enough to see one none other than Theodor Nott standing up on the table bowing with as much grandeur as if he had won the schools highest award. Draco fell back and let his head rest on the floor. He closed his eyes and let himself be ridiculed. He was so tired of fighting back; it never worked, and it was much worse the next time.

The whole hall went silent. Draco looked up again. Everybody was still moving, their mouths still open in laughter but nothing came out. Not a sound from anybody…except one.

While everybody else in the hall was looking around, (panicking he was pleased to see) a girl detached herself from the Gryfindor throng of people and walked across the hall to him, her feet barely making any sound on the tile. People were so preoccupied by their lack of voice, they didn't even notice her. When she reached him, she knelt down, slung his arm over her shoulder and picked him up off the floor as easy as a sack of potatoes. He could feel the new muscles in her back and arms.

"You've been working out," he said, somewhat monotone. She just chuckled humorlessly, "What else am I supposed to do." They said nothing after that but a mere twenty steps after the Great Hall doors closed, there was an explosion of sound from the hall. They moved into an empty class room and Hermione took out her wand. Draco sat patiently turning this way and that while she tried to figure out which spell Nott had used on him. It wasn't a typical body binding. She tried for ten minutes different kinds of canceling spells and charms. She finally put her wand aside and tried some of her own magic. His legs finally unlocked on her third try when she sent tiny purple sparks into his legs. It prickled a bit, but it worked. But when he tried to get up, he barely walked two steps before he dropped back to the floor.

Hermione just watched him and sighed. Then she picked him up again and carried him all the way to the steps of the astronomy tower, and half way up before she finally had to set him down. They sat there, Hermione panting slightly, Draco stretching his legs manually.

"So," he finally said, "Are you talking to me again?" she said nothing. "I guess not." She gave him a icy stare and got up again, continuing on to the top of the tower. He waited till he heard the door open at the entrance, then sighed and started to slowly pull himself up the rest of the way, trying his feet every few steps. Thankfully, by the time he reached the door he was able to hobble through it rather stiffly but at least he could walk. He pushed the door open and saw Hermione leaning casually on the ledge looking at the receding sun. He hobbled a bit closer till he was standing next to her a few feet away.

"Granger," he began, but never continued. He didn't know what to say. Neither of them did. He looked over at her and tried again, "Hermione…" but again, he had no idea what to say. He couldn't say he was sorry.

Draco took in Hermione's posture as she leaned on the wall. It was stiff, not as casual as she had appeared at first; ready for a fight, however weak he was. He knew somehow that she wouldn't hesitate like she did before, even though he was already beaten down. She was tougher, much more than when they first met in the tower, more intimidating, but more in control as well and that made her even more dangerous. She had helped him just now, she was in total control of herself, but if he even had the slightest thought to attack her, she would have him disarmed before his wand was even out.

Even then though, as he looked further, beneath her hard exterior, he saw something he never would have thought possible for him to see. She breathed in deep, closed her eyes, and exhaled, tilting her head towards the sky, almost as though in a trance. The light from the waxing moon lit her face perfectly, making her skin glow and her colored hair sparkle. He realized then that this was not the first time he saw these things, just the only time he fully realized exactly what he was seeing; she was beautiful. She was strong, intelligent, and caring. She had so many qualities in her that kept her proud but modest at the same time. She was perfect. And he found himself horror struck at what he had done to her. Not only had he tormented her throughout their past six years at Hogwarts, he had single handedly made her impenetrable to any real, genuine feeling. He had proved her wrong about his intentions and personality by earning her trust and friendship, then proved her right again, making her believe that she could trust no one; that she needed to pretend to be something she was not. He couldn't say he was sorry though, however badly he wanted to. How could you say that you were sorry when all you said was true? How was it even possible to express in words the regret and the anguish and the yearning for forgiveness, for her within him?

A thought occurred to him so blasphemes; he almost dismissed it…almost.

Draco remembered her telling him something about her heightened senses and how they included a new ability to sense someone's intentions without them telling her verbally. He couldn't express what was going through him in words…so he wouldn't. Not in words. He could only hope she wouldn't disintegrate him before he got close enough to try.

Draco drew himself up to his full height, summoned whatever strength was left in him, and crossed the distance between him and Hermione in a few long strides. She started out of her trance as she saw him approach and her hand lit up when he grabbed her arms and turned her to face him. Then before she could react further, he leaned in and pulled her close, so close that their noses almost touched. Hermione was completely caught unawares and the glow dimmed. Draco looked her in the eyes, saw confusion, anger, warning, distrust and even hate there, and kissed her none the less.

It was a soft kiss, but his lips were full of passion, of unspoken words. She felt the turmoil fighting within him. His desire for life to be as it was before this last year, yet an even stronger desire for something more than the petty hate going on between everyone. She felt his regret for the passed six years and for betraying her trust at their last encounter.

His tongue traces her lips, and his lips pushed against hers, looking to deepen the kiss…and she let him, his feelings deepening toward her and allowing her a deeper understanding of his thoughts. He felt drawn to her, and admired her more than anyone and she felt his regret for ruining what they had. His hands left her arms to encircle her waist and pull her closer. Her arms moved as though of their own accord to grasp his arms. She could feel his mussels, could physically feel him holding himself back. He wanted more of her, but he wanted to explain his thoughts and feelings even more.

Their kiss lasted close to several minutes, coming up for air only once; all the while Draco pushing his thoughts to her, willing her to understand more about him. Towards the end, she felt mainly his pleasure at being this close to her, being with her this way that it felt completely natural to him and he wished it could last longer than this. He wished they could be just simple, like this: boy likes girl, boy kisses girl, girl likes boy… hopefully. She felt once more the deep regret he held for messing up whatever chance they had at a simple relationship before he finally pulled away.

They had somehow ended up against the wall, with Hermione's back and Draco's hands against it. She couldn't tell if that was because he was trying to hold himself up because he was so weak, or because he was trying to hold himself away from her. He looked right at her again, his eyes seaming to glow with a whole new set of feelings, but these were so strong, she had to look away from his intense gaze.

"Draco…" now she was at a loss for words. Some part of her couldn't believe what had just happened, the other part wanted to prove it had happened by making it happen again. She pushed those thoughts away, annoyed at herself. She wanted to be so mad at him! She wanted to toss him over the tower, bring him back up and punch the stuffing out of him! So why couldn't she? It would be so easy, but she didn't even understand her own feelings. She frowned so she wouldn't smile, she ducked under his arm and got away from him so she wouldn't be tempted to close the space between him. She didn't understand what was going on with her, and she was getting pretty tired at the familiar feeling.

"Draco," Hermione said, now from the other end of the tower. His gaze had never faltered from her face, "Why?" was all she could ask.

"Because I couldn't explain how I felt… I still cant explain. I just wanted to be close to you. For so long I thought I hated you, but I don't. It's the exact opposite of that actually. I wanted to be close," He watched her reaction carefully.

"You were close, Draco. Surprisingly you had gotten closer than any one. And I almost let you in…I almost trusted you." Her voice was barely above a whisper, and she wasnt looking directly at him. She thought of how after her accident, she closed herself off to everyone, even her parents. How, after she had started meeting with him, to fight or just talk, she started letting people back in. Harry and Ron were finally starting to feel like her best friends again. After her and Draco had fought, she started closing up again. Hermione had subconsciously realized exactly how much she needed him, and now she had to consciously accept it.

She repeated, "I almost trusted you, and you were right to think that you took that back."

Draco closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, feeling suddenly small and weak again. He didn't hear Hermione make a sound as she stood up or feel her walk up to him so wrapped up in his sudden depression he was. He started when he felt Hermione's breath so close, and opened his eyes. She was standing right in front of him. It would be easy to reach out and take her face to kiss her again, but he stopped himself somehow. There was something in her eyes he couldn't read. A spark that reminded him of the old Hermione Granger, but also of the one he knew.

"But you were wrong," she whispered, "to assume that you had ruined _any _chance at a relationship. There are all kinds you know, why do we have to have one like everybody else?" She smirked and there was a slight pressure on the back of his neck where her hand now was. He needed no further hint, and bent down to kiss her again. Maybe, he thought there was some kind of hope for them. She was right, as usual; they were different than most people after all. Why shouldn't they have a different kind of love?

Ok readers, what did you think? I finally finished my very first fan fic ever! Lol it might have some faults, but Im proud of it. Right now im working on an Eragon fic, but im not gonna post that one till later, I want to have a few chapters written so I can post more often. Lol

Thanks for reading and reviewing, oh! But review this chapter! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, so I can improve my style of writing and so that the one after this will be even better : )

Thanks a buch!  
~Seph


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